Issue #2

Welcome back to the Reading Every Marvel Comic blog! Today, we are returning with the 2nd issue of the Fantastic Four. This issue debuted on New  Day in 1961. 

As you may notice, this is the first mention of one of the Avengers best storylines: the Skrulls. Let's get into it.

We open with each member of the Fantastic Four seemingly committing crimes, destroying and stealing rare and expensive items, and then using their powers to escape. We cut back to the four of them meeting up and talking about how the cops are now after them. We then see that these are not the real F4 (shocker) and that they are using other means to simulate the real F4's powers. They then transform into their real selves: Skrulls! Their plan was to get the people of Earth to kill the F4, then power on Earth could stop them from invading. We then cut to the real F4, hearing this news far away in a log cabin in the woods, everyone expects that Reed will figure out a solution, except the Thing, who grows crazy and threatens the whole Human race verbally. We see here a little more of the resentment the Thing still harbors toward Reed as he grows angry. He acts like it's because all they seem to do is plan, but no action, but to me, it's the fact everyone else has faith in Reed to figure it out, yet once when they trusted Reed, he became disfigured. He can't figure out why they all still trust him. It hurts because he probably believes they trust Reed more than Ben. 

The other three discuss what to do with the Thing, and Reed takes the blame for him being that way. You can immediately feel his regret that the people he loves had their life fall apart because of him. 

Just then, the US army arrives to arrest the F4, and they immediately give themselves up. However, the army, despite personalizing each room to the super's specific powers, still underestimates them. Each almost immediately finds a way out, and alarms are sounded as they escape. They then get out with a helicopter and head to a secret apartment. 

At the apartment, Human Torch comes up with a plan: to sabotage an event themselves, and the impersonators might get confused and reveal themselves. However, conflict breeds as the Thing thinks the Torch is a mere boy not suited to the job. Torch flames on as a response to that. Reed breaks it up, while Sue runs interference. We then figure out the root of his behavior, when Sue is talking to him, he mentions he believes the world would be better without him in it. Self-loathing is at the root of his constant feuds. Torch says that he’s ready to proceed with the plan, and heads out to melt an atomic plant. This, as expected, draws the attention of “Sue” and “Reed”, who pick him up in a car. The Skrulls fall for the trap completely and bring Torch up to the Skrull's secret headquarters, where the fake Torch realizes that they were tricked. Torch sends out the F4 flare gun that signals the rest of his group, and then encircles the Skrulls with a ring of flame. The fake Torch flames on, and the two collide. This removes the flame from the real Torch, and the Skrulls take the opportunity to attack. Just as they are about to seize him, the real F4 arrives. One of the Skrulls pulls a gun on Torch, but Reed grabs it before he can fire. He aims it at all of them and demands answers. When they initially refuse, the Thing loses it again and tries to throw a dresser at them. Reed ties up the Thing but uses him as a threat to make the Skrulls talk. However, the news that the Skrulls have is that there is a whole fleet of ships ready to invade Earth, and the F4 are the only ones that can stop them. What can they do?

The F4 elect to masquerade as the Skrulls pretending to be them to get on the ship. They fly on top of a fake water tower to the mothership, which is just outside of Earth. They inform the Skrull leader that Earth’s defenses cannot be beaten, and show them fake photographs of fictional monsters that scare the Skrull leader into wanting to leave, with the F4 claiming they have to stay behind and erase all evidence that the Skrulls were there. The plan works perfectly, and the Skrulls leave them floating back down to earth on the water tower. However, when the Thing realizes that they are going to pass through the same radiation rays that turned the Thing into what he is, he starts to panic. However, when they land on Earth, something shocking has happened: the Thing has turned back into Ben. Everyone gets really happy for him, but then he turns back to the Thing. 

It’s not long before the police arrest the F4 again, and they tell the cops that they can prove that it wasn’t them, but aliens. They take the officers to their apartment, but strange monsters are waiting for them, and the F4 are forced to engage. The strange creatures are the Skrulls shape-shifting into monsters, but they are easily defeated. The officers apologize and try to arrest the Skrulls. However, Reed convinces the officers that they will escape prison easily, and to leave them with the F4, which the officer agrees to. 

The F4 presents the option of killing the Skrulls, which they beg off. They promise they’ll live peacefully on earth, and Reed says that he will make them change into a specific form, then hypnotize them to not be able to change. They agree, and he changes them to cows. 

Overall, this was an excellent issue. There was less actual fighting, but we got to see a little more intelligence from the four as they conned a group far more powerful than them to leave Earth alone. This issue also had a lot more character development, specifically for the Thing. Nothing too difficult, but they still did some work on making the Thing a three-dimensional character. 

This is an excellent issue for our characters.

9/10